Packaging has changed the course of human history: primitive human quickly realised that it would be a good idea to conserve some supplies for when food became scarce. The earliest vessels and containers were provided by nature itself in the form of animal skins, shells and gourds. Later, leaves and reeds were woven to make baskets and 3,500 years ago the invention of the pottery

The early Egyptians contributed to the history of packaging when they discovered that the glass they had invented for making jewellery could also be used as containers in the form of bottles, bowls for conserving food.
Wooden barrels, though invented in Egypt nearly 7000 years ago, became popular in the Middle Ages because they could be used for storing various types of food, including liquids such as beer or wine, and were much less fragile than glass

During the Industrial Revolution trade flourished and more and more goods became available to the consumer. Then, in the early 19th century a Frenchman named Nicholas Appert invented the can. It was made of glass; a hundred years later the cardboard box was invented in America. The flat-pack box could be folded out to make a square container that was light, cheap and easy to assemble.

The 20th century saw the invention of a remarkable number of packaging devices: cellophane, polythene, aluminium foil, metal cans, aseptic cartons took over from glass bottles in the milk-packaging industry.